Sweet Secrets
by WillowandSage
Summary: Sophia finds herself heartbroken seven days before Valentine's Day when her husband of nearly six years announces that he'll be leaving her for another woman. Devastated, she moves in with her childhood best friend, Sweet Pea. But he has a secret of his own and might not be able to keep it in much longer, especially when Valentine's Day is approaching & the love just moved in.


"No, do not speak to me!" the shrill sound screeched out of Sophia's throat without any time to think before speaking. "Do not even _look_ at me!"

Her husband of six years, her high school sweetheart, stood in front of her a mix of anguish, shame and the smallest trace of anger flickering over his facial expressions. "Soph," he started, "I didn't mean for this to happen, I just-"

"Oh, _save it_!" she interrupted, balling up a tee-shirt and hurling it at him. "You did mean for it to happen! You wanted an out! Now, you have one!"

He flinched as a pair of his denim jeans came flying his way. He watched as she stormed around the room, pinballing from side to side, gathering up her most important belongings and stuffing them into a large duffle bag.

"I didn't mean to fall in love with someone else, Sophie," he repeated to which, she huffed angrily. "But I do love her. Would you rather live a lie and go the rest of our lives with us unhappy?"

"Us?" she spat. "I _was_ happy, Joe!" She felt hot tears pricking her eyes, but her pride refused to show him how much pain she was in, how broken and betrayed she felt.

"I just didn't realize you weren't." She shoved her favorite blouse into a wad and into the bag.

His hands reach out for nothing, helpless.

"How did you meet?" she asked bitterly, going over to her jewelry box.

"Soph, don't do this to yourself," he chided softly. Was it for himself or for her?

"I'm not doing anything. YOU did this. How. Did. You. Meet?" She punctuated each word with a snarl and sharp hiss.

"At work," he answered simply.

She barked out a humorless laugh. " Oh, I get it. All that time working overtime. Isn't that what you told me?"

She felt so stupid, so humilated. She wanted him to feel as low and as pathetic as she felt.

"Soph, I'm sorry," he murmured again, looking down at his feet.

She zipped up the bag that rested at the foot of the bed and hauled it over her shoulder with a grunt. "Shut up, Joe," she warned lowly.

"Where are you going to go?" he asked.

"Not that it matters, but I'm home," she snarled, tugging off her wedding rings in one last attempt to reclaim some type of control. She dropped them on the comforter and immediately thought her hand looked empty without them.

"Sophie…"

Her throat closed up and she made a strange sort of strangled choking noise, the weight of reality breaking through her angry bravado. Tears, hot and fast, were on the horizon and she feared if they started, they would never stop.

So she left without another word before he could see them.

* * *

Sweet Pea stretched out on the couch finally, kicking his feet up after a grueling 12-hour day in the shop fixing cars and motorcycles. Normally, work wasn't so tedious, however with two other people out, the majority of the day was spent doing mindless mundane tasks like changing brake pads, oil changes, all the things he did when he was a teenager tinkering around.

He groaned and reached for the remote, intending on catching up on his favorite show. The reality was, he'd probably be asleep in the first fifteen minutes.

A loud pounding on the door interrupted any intended or unintended plans.

"Sweet Pea!" the voice called. He immediately recognized it, pulling himself off the couch and swinging the door open.

"What in the hell So-" he stopped short when he saw his best friend standing before him, shoulders slumped, duffle bag abandoned on the porch next to her and tears streaming down her pale face.

Her face crumbled as soon as she saw him. He gingerly stepped forward, reaching out for her and drawing her closer to his body in a protective way.

"Fee, what happened?!"

"He-he's in love with someone else!" she cried, collapsing into the safety of his chest as she openly wept.

He slid his arms around her shaking frame encasing her in a hug, his hand tangling up in her hair at the base of her neck. "Oh Fee," he soothed softly. "I'm so sorry,"

Sweet Pea wasn't sure how long they stood there holding her as she sobbed, her heart-shattering in front of him. The flood of emotions immediately overwhelmed him.

He felt undeniably angry at Joe for hurting her like this. Nevermind, he had never liked Joe but had always tried to be supported of his best friend. He felt devastated for her but also somewhere beneath all the anger, sadness and protectiveness, he was jubilated and terrified all at once.

He couldn't deny the hopefulness he felt for a fraction of a second. But he had to push all that aside. It wasn't the right time to think of any of that. He just needed to be there for her.

After a while, he nudged the top of her head with his chin affectionately. "Come on, let's go inside," he said softly as if anything louder than a whisper would shatter her.

* * *

**A/N: I think this will be a short one, maybe 5 or 6 chapters. I found a writing prompt on an online forum somewhere and immediately had almost the story laid out in my head! I hope you enjoy it. (I'm also on Ao3, which I find A LOT easier to write on and upload, so you can find me over there!) Thanks and leave your thoughts! **


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